The common theme of "Boy worshiping Guanyin" in Chinese culture originated from the visit of Shancai boy to Guanshiyin Bodhisattva in the Buddhist "Avatamsaka Sutra" and developed independently based on this plot.

1. Preface

The common theme of "boy worshiping Guanyin" in Chinese culture is derived from the fact that the boy Shancai visited Guanyin Bodhisattva in the Buddhist "Avatamsaka Sutra" and developed independently based on this plot. After a long historical development, this theme has been integrated into Buddhist, Taoist, and folk beliefs, and has also become one of the objects of expression of artistic and cultural creation. The development context of how the boy worship Guanyin was developed in the Song Dynasty will be discussed one by one in this article.

2. In the "Avatamsaka Sutra", Guanyin Bodhisattva's Prayer and Water Moon Guanyin

In the "Avatamsaka Sutra", the "Avatamsaka Sutra", the "Avatamsaka Sutra" in the "Avatamsaka Sutra", the main source of the motto of the boy worshiping Guanyin Bodhisattva. This visit is the 27th subject of the common fifty-three subjects today, but some of the subjects are calculated as twenty-eight subjects. The plot of this visit is the main source of the motto of the boy worshiping Guanyin. The Potalaka Mountain in

classics is also translated as Budraka, Budraka, Putraka... etc. It is translated into "Huiyuan Yinyi" in , the meaning of "Huiyuan Yishi" in . At present, the academic community generally believes that the mountain is located in Papanasam, South India, and is also translated as Papanasam. It is regarded as the temple of Guanyin Bodhisattva in ancient India's Mahayana Buddhism.

"Eighty Huayan" explains that when the boy Shancai went to that mountain to visit the Guanyin Bodhisattva's temple, in the rock valley west of this mountain, the springs were lingering, the woods were lush, the vanilla soft, the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva sat cross-legged on the Vajra Gem, and the infinite Bodhisattvas around him sat respectfully on the gem, and Guanyin Bodhisattva preached the great compassion method to absorb all sentient beings.

In the early Tang Dynasty, the "Pure Land of Budou Mountain" appeared on the east wall gate of Cave 332 of Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, which conveyed the scene of Guanyin Bodhisattva preaching the wonderful Dharma in the Pure Land of the Portalaga Mountain. However, the image is not closely related to the Avatamsaka Sutra, but is mainly based on the tenth volume of "H Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty " written in the 20th year of Zhenguan (646), which explains the records of the Pure Land of Guanyin Bodhisattva in South India.

The prosperous Tang Dynasty began to be supported by the great masters of Huayan ancestors and the court, which gradually increased the influence of the "Avatamsaka Sutra". The statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva sitting on the rock and sitting in a comfortable and comfortable position began to appear, called it "Putuoluo Guanyin". Later, the Tang people developed the "Shuiyue Guanyin" based on this, which was created by the famous painter at that time, Zhou Fang (the birth and death year unknown, and the activity was in the early 9th century). The characteristic of the statue is that Guanyin Bodhisattva sits freely on the rock, with a large round light behind him, surrounded by water waves, and a bamboo forest in the background. Judging from the Dunhuang statues and suicide notes of the Sutra Cave, Shuiyue Guanyin mainly has the characteristics of relieving disasters, eliminating suffering, and saving sentient beings. At the same time, the Han Tu also developed related classics such as " Buddha's Sutra of Water Moonlight Guanyin Bodhisattva ", which reflected that the belief was prevalent at that time.

No original works of Shuiyue Guanyin created by Zhou Fang have been passed down from generation to generation, but this image has been spread throughout Japan, South Korea and other places in the middle and late Tang Dynasty. Many 5th to Shuiyue Guanyin from the Northern Song Dynasty period were unearthed in the Dunhuang Sutra Cave. One of them is the "Thousand-handed Thousand-Eyed Guanyin Bodhisattva" in the eighth year of Tianfu in the Later Jin Dynasty (943). Shuiyue Guanyin was drawn in the lower left corner of the picture, and the ink title "Shuiyue Guanyin Bodhisattva" (Figure 2).

3. The origin of the boy Shancai from the East Land became the family of Guanyin Bodhisattva

Academician Yu Junfang has long conducted in-depth discussions and research on the belief in Chinese Guanyin. From the analysis of folk treasure scrolls and related documents and historical materials, it is believed that the combination of Guanyin, Shancai, and the combination of Guanyin and Shancai did not appear around the beginning of the twelfth century (the end of the Northern Song Dynasty to the early Southern Song Dynasty).

If the actual unearthed statues are compared with the above statements, a relics unearthed from the secret stone sutra pagoda of Yunju Temple in Fangshan, Beijing, the inscription engraved in the stone chamber shows that this object was held in the seventh year of Tianqing in Liao (1117). The letter contains one of the round bronze mirrors and amulets carved in the thread. The main lord stands in white-clothed Guanyin, puts his hands down in front of his staggered abdomen, holding a string of rosary beads in his right hand, Guanyin stands on the right hand, wearing armor and folds his hands together; the Bodhisattva stands on the left, with a boy Shancai, with his hair tied up, with his hands together, wearing a heavenly garment, and wearing a skirt under his head, staring at Guanyin, showing his walking appearance (Figure 3). From the title of the Shihan List, we can see that this bronze plaque was engraved before 1117. The statues of Guanyin using Shancai as his relatives were quite mature. Therefore, it is inferred that this type of statue should have been developed at the end of the eleventh century at the latest, and it was spread all over the country and became more popular in the Southern Song and Jin dynasties.

is located in the No. 113 niche in Beishan Fowan, Dazu City, Chongqing City. It was opened in the Southern Song Dynasty. The main wall is "Shuiyue Guanyin" (Figure 4). The Bodhisattva wore a crown on his head, rolled up and floated upwards on both sides, and wore a gorgeous necklace . His right hand leaned on his right knee, and his left hand gently pressed the ground downwards. A big round light was arranged behind him. The left side of the Guanyin platform was arranged with a boy standing with his hands respectfully folded together. But it was a pity that the overall statue was weathered due to the long-term weather and was unbroken. In addition, the second cave of the Anxi Yulin Grottoes in the late Western Xia period (1038-1227) is depicted on the north side of the west wall (Figure 5). You can also see that the Shuiyue Guanyin is sitting freely on the rock. On the left side of Guanyin, a good boy wearing a thin belt in a sky, standing on the five-color clouds of auspiciousness, facing Guanyin to worship.

, and Guanyin Bodhisattva configures the boy Shancai as his relatives, and the main source is that the popularization of Guanyin's beliefs is related to the statues in the "Avatamsaka Sutra". Under the influence of the "Avatamsaka Sutra" in the Tang Dynasty, Manjushri and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva have been developed to configure the boy Shancai as his relatives, but at this time Guanyin did not configure the boy Shancai to create a statue of the relatives. The connection between the boy Shancai and Guanyin Bodhisattva is only from the plot of the boy Shancai visiting Guanyin in the picture of the Dharma Realm. The independent motto performance has not yet been improved. The picture of the Dharma Realm in the late Northern Song Dynasty gradually converted into mature 53 images. For example, the "Avatamsaka Sutra of the Huayan Entry into the Dharma Realm in the Disguised Sutra" was created before the third year of Shaosheng (1096) of the Northern Song Dynasty. The literati painter Li Gonglin (1049-1106) also painted a record of the 53-diagram diagram of the boy Shancai. The "Guide to Manjushri, the Zen Master of Buddha Kingdom" appeared in the late Northern Song Dynasty (1098-1100).

The original "Guide to Manjushri of Buddha's Zen Master" in the Northern Song Dynasty has been lost. It is currently printed in the Southern Song Dynasty. The image of the visiting Guanyin Bodhisattva in the fifty-three visits of the boy Shancai (Figure 6). The two lines of the left hand-written book explain the 28th visit to Guanzi Bodhisattva on Mount Budouluojia. The Bodhisattva taught the compassionate voice. The boy Shancai obtained the Great Compassion Practice Method and realized that the dedication of sentient beings is followed. Below the print picture, a poem of praise for the time being written by the Zen master of Buddha Kingdom. In the picture, Guanyin is in the shape of Guanyin, wearing a crown on his head, a thin belt on the top of his body, and a long skirt on his lower body. He sits freely on the rock, presses his right hand on the ground and his left hand on his left knee. The mountain rock stands behind Guanyin, with bamboo shadows swaying, and a clean bottle and willow branches are placed above the rock on the left side of Guanyin. The Bodhisattva stared at the boy Shancai on the road in front of the sea. The boy wore a thin belt on the top of the sky and a long skirt on the bottom. He stood with his feet, raised his hands high and respectfully put them together, and worshiped Guanyin from afar. On the upper left side of the picture, a Bodhisattva is drawn in the shape of a water droplet, descending from above, holding a willow branch in his right hand and a clean bottle in his left hand, indicating the great compassion of Guanyin Bodhisattva to relieve disasters and relieve suffering.

The late Northern Song Dynasty fifty-three parasites in the configuration of the Shancai boy model has matured and developed. People's belief in Guanyin has become popular, and this type of statue has gradually gained attention, and gradually withdrawn the fifty-three parasites and become an independent motto. In addition to the development of the Three Sacred Figures of Huayan in the Song Dynasty (Guanyin, Manjushri, and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva), Guanyin Bodhisattva replaced the position of Veluciana Buddha, which was more popular than in the Tang Dynasty. Huayan statues were traditionally influenced by Manjushri and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva's configuration of Shancai boys, and it was natural that Guanyin Bodhisattva also configured Shancai boys as their relatives.

4. The multi-combination of the Boys worship Guanyin in the Boys worship Guanyin

The theme of the Boys worship Guanyin in the Song Dynasty became popular, which made the original theme of the Boys worshiping Guanyin of Shancai in the fifty-three reference pictures expand and other types of Guanyin, such as White Clothes Guanyin , South China Sea, Guanyin of the Tantric Buddhism..., etc., but with the development of historical context, the themes of Guanyin such as Water Moon, White Clothes, South China Sea, and Send Children... are mixed and confused with each other, and it is sometimes difficult to identify the identity of Guanyin.

Cave No. 7, Yuanjue Cave in Anyue, Sichuan, the main host of Guanyin Bodhisattva is wearing a crown on his head, a shoulder-wide cassock, a long skirt on his lower body, and a garland ornament. He raises his right hand to his shoulder to hold a willow branch, and holds a pure bottle in front of his belly with his left hand, and stands on a lotus, which belongs to Guanyin's pure bottle (Figure 7). The statue of Guanyin was carved around the second year of Yuanfu in the Northern Song Dynasty (1099) to the first year of Daguan (1107), and around the 23rd year of Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty (1153), a round light was carved on the left side of Guanyin Bodhisattva, with a relief in the circle, dressed in a Bodhisattva dressed in a thin belt in the sky, walking, and putting his hands together with his chest. Although the boy’s head was incomplete, his movements could be inferred that the boy looked back and looked at Guanyin from afar (Figure 8). In addition, the No. 24th niche in Qianfo Village, Anyue, Sichuan, was dug for the three Western sages in the Northern Song Dynasty. Guanyin Bodhisattva also belongs to the Pure Bottle Guanyin. In the early Southern Song Dynasty, the cave carved a boy from Shancai next to the Guanyin statue, showing the appearance of a boy, wearing a thin belt in the sky, his hands folded, and stood respectfully and with his feet. He stared at the Three Western sages, deliberately placing the boy from Shancai here, reflecting the intention of Shancai as a relative of Guanyin Bodhisattva (Figure 9).

was unearthed in Dazu Fowan, Chongqing in 1933. It is now numbered No. 125. During the Shaoxing period of the Southern Song Dynasty (1131-1162), Guanyin wore a treasure crown on his head, wore a silk strip, and a thin belt in the sky. She decorated the whole body with her left hand, gently stroked her right wrist, twisted a string of Buddhist beads with her right finger, and stood on the double lotus platform with her feet. She was equipped with a round light in the shape of water droplets. The Bodhisattva smiled and had a graceful figure. This number of beads and handed Guanyin is commonly known as the charming Guanyin (Figure 10). The left wall of Guanyin Bodhisattva is carved with a boy Shancai, wearing a thin belt on the upper body and a skirt on the lower body. He stands with his feet, his hands folded with his chest, and his head looks at Guanyin's holy appearance (Figure 11).

In the Tang Dynasty "The Ritual of the Futuo Falling Sea Meeting" and "The Ritual Sutra of the Practice of the Vajra Yoga Thousand Hands Thousand Eyes Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva", the Boy Shancai has been configured as a relative of Guanyin Bodhisattva, but after two destruction of Buddhas in the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, although some of the statues related to the tantric Dharma in the Song Dynasty still continued to develop, some images and rituals are no longer complete. Under the influence of Guanyin Bodhisattva's arrangement of the boy Shancai as his relative, some of the tantric systems Guanyin also arranged the boy Shancai as his relative.

For example, carved from the 12th to the 16th year of Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty (1142-1146), the second Guanyin statue was created from the inside to the outside. This Guanyin Bodhisattva has a six-armed poem, a crown on his head, a robe with a shoulder, a garland on his chest, and a sun and moon on his left and right hands. He holds willow branches in his right middle hand, and holds the bowl with a meditation seal in front of his abdomen in his left middle hand; holds a sword on his right lower hand and holds a long-handed axe on his left lower hand. Guanyin sat on the Vajra seat, with a waiter on the left and right. In front of the Vajra seat, , the boy Shancai, the boy Bodhisattva looks like a boy, wearing a streamer in the sky, with a broken head, and his hands are tied together with his chest (Figure 12). This Guanyin Bodhisattva is considered to be "Bukongluo Guanyin". Although the shapes of the Bukongluo Guanyin mentioned in the Buddhist scriptures are different, the Bukongluo Guanyin does not have the characteristics of holding the Bukongluo Guanyin, which seems special. Bukongluo Guanyin uses the teachings of mantras to teach countless sentient beings, and obtains twenty kinds of merits in this life. At the time of death, he will be reborn in the Buddha's land as he wishes. In addition, he also has the power to protect the country and eliminate disasters.

The Guanyin belief in Meichen Mountain outside Zhejiang originates from navigation culture. It is related to the refusal to go to Guanyin due to the transnational navigation trade in the Tang Dynasty. The island is surrounded by the sea on all sides, just like the holy realm of the Guanyin Temple Budouluojia Mountain recorded in the "Avatamsaka Sutra" and " Great Compassion Sutra ". Therefore, it is attached as Guanyin Temple. The latest period of the Northern Song Dynasty was the thought of Mount Meicen, which was Guanyin Pure Land Budouluojia Mountain, but the official change of Meicen Mountain to Putuoshan . The exact era was in the Ming Dynasty.

Shi Hao (1106-1194), a minister of the Southern Song Dynasty, once landed on the island, worshiping the Chaoyin Cave, and saw Guanyin appearing in a young woman, and circulated the stele of the record. However, the Guanyin that Shi Hao saw did not contain the figure of Shancai boy. Later, the book "Baoqing Siming Zhi" written in the first year of Shaoding (1228) of the Southern Song Dynasty, explaining that Meicen Mountain was the place where Guanyin Bodhisattva educated him. There are Shancai Rock and Chaoyin Cave on the island. In terms of geographical environment, a smaller cave on the right side of Chaoyin Cave is named Shancai Rock (Cave), which has the essential connotation of a boy worshiping Guanyin. Chaoyin Cave was originally from the verse of the "Universal Gate Chapter" in the Lotus Sutra: "The wonderful sound of Guanyin, the Sanskrit sound of the sea tide sound is better than that of the world, so you must recite it." Shancaiyan comes from the "Avatamsaka Sutra" in the "Avatamsaka Sutra", which is related to the visit of the Guanyin Bodhisattva's temple. A wooden carving "Shancai Boy Standed" (Figure 13) invited to visit in the Southern Song Dynasty in Nagatakiji, Gifu, Japan may be the product of the Guanyin belief in Putuo Mountain, and is placed next to the Guanyin statue as a stubborn servant.

The motif of boy worshiping Guanyin in the Ming and Qing dynasties combined with secular tastes and wishes made the statue more diversified. In New York Metropolitan Museum , a very special painting of " Send a Son of Guanyin " (Figure 14), in the picture, Guanyin appears as a middle-aged lady with a kind face, wearing a high crown on her head, and transforming into a Buddha on her head. The headdress naturally floats up on both sides, wearing white clothes and streamers, and a white skirt on her lower body, wearing earrings, necklaces, arm bracelets, wrist bracelets, foot bracelets and other treasures embellish the solemn whole body. Guanyin was holding a standing baby in her arms. The child was dressed in a very luxurious manner, wearing a lock piece and a neck, a bellyband covered with red bottom and a jade belt on her waist, and a jade seal in her left hand.

Guanyin is riding on a black lion, and the lion is wearing a gorgeous treasure ornament. Behind Guanyin, a Kunlun slave was holding a Buddha banner. On the left side of Guanyin, a boy Shancai was standing, wearing gorgeous garlands and heavenly clothes, and folded his hands together to worship Guanyin Master. Here, Guanyin Bodhisattva combines the characteristics of Guanyin in white clothes, Guanyin giving birth to children, and Guanyin riding a lion (门) and other characteristics. The auspicious clouds floated down from the void above. Guanyin, a son and a son of Shancai and a relative of Kunlun slaves arrived on the auspicious clouds and gave them to the precious boys in the world. In the picture, the boy, wearing a jade belt, holding an official seal, and the realistic lion riding of Guanyin, all show the supreme imperial power and wealth, revealing that a high-ranking official in the capital sincerely prays to Guanyin Bodhisattva for his son, praying that the Bodhisattva will send a shiny man in the court to Zhu Zigui in the court. Overall, the picture is full of dynamic, delicate characters, soft colors, and innovative themes.

A Qing Dynasty Dehua kiln porcelain sculpture "Putuo Guanyin" (Figure 15) is collected in the Nanjing Museum. The statue has a white body and delicate soil. Guanyin has a kind face, elegant and refined appearance. She does not wear a crown on her head, her braids are naturally drooping, her chest is covered with garlands, her pearls are complex and unconfused, her shoulders are covered with thin belts wrapped around her elbows naturally drooping, her right hand is caressed on her right knee, her left hand is horizontally placed in her hand and holding Ruyi in her hand, her lower body is dressed in a skirt, her clothes are attached to her body and vividly, her right leg is upright, her left leg is placed cross-straight, and she sits on the rock, symbolizing Putuo Mountain. On the rock platform to the left of Guanyin, there are scriptures above. There is a boy from Shancai in the lower left corner, lively and cute, dressed in a Bodhisattva dress, with his hands folded, standing on a lotus petal. The sea below stirs up pearls and waves, symbolizing the South China Sea. This Dehua Kiln Guanyin statue has superb skills and is realistic and moving. It places Guanyin among the mountains and rivers, like a transcendent scholar. This is a beautiful taste along the Ming Dynasty He Chaozong (about 1522-1600), with a strong temperament of books and literati. In addition to offering sacrifices, it is more used for the decorations of literati.

5. Summary

During the Tang Dynasty, the picture of entering and leaving the Dharma Realm was developed, mainly based on the transformation of the Huayan Sutra. By the Northern Song Dynasty, the picture of entering the Dharma Realm had been transformed into a mature and independent Shancai Boy's fifty-three reference pictures. Among them, the plot of Shancai Boy's visit to Guanyin was independent, becoming the theme of the boy worshiping Guanyin was widely accepted and promoted by the world, and it was transformed from the original theme of the Water Moon Guanyin to a diverse development. This phenomenon reflects the weakening of the basis of the "Avatamsaka Sutra" and the enhancement of the Chinese local belief form.